The Johnson Report and more ...

It struck me that perhaps not everyone knew what the Johnson Report was – or how to get hold of it.

You can download a copy here. The full name of the report is Australia as a Financial Centre – Building on Our Strengths and it is principally a document aimed at identifying how Australia can best leverage its position as a global centre for finance.

Islamic finance is only the subject of a small portion of the report – but it is well worth reading for anyone who wants to understand where the government (and Treasury) are headed with this.

The initiative announced by Nick Sherry yesterday was a start to the implementation phase of the recommendations outlined in the Report. (The nickname for the report comes from the principal author of the report – Mark Johnson, chair of the Australian Financial Centre Forum).

Nick Sherry’s announcement seems to have received something of a muted response in Australia – with little coverage given to the story by the main news outlets (Fairfax and News). Thankfully Bloomberg gave the story an airing – and included a useful quote from Senator Sherry: ‘“My message is that in Australia we have what the wholesale Islamic finance market is calling out for. I will be focused very heavily on high-level talks on Australia’s tax treatment, regulation, promotion and export of Islamic finance, banking and insurance.”

The only contender covering the story in Australia seems to be my former boss’ (Bob Gottliebsen’s) new stomping ground www.businessspectator.com.au. The others just ignored it.

Thankfully there is someone who is willing and able to report on Islamic finance in Australia (look, I’m blushing).